Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Committee History
Scope and Content
Accruals
Indexing Terms
Related Collections at the California State Archives
Descriptive Summary
Title: California State Senate Appropriations Committee Records
Dates: 1985-2008
Collection number: LP234:21-209, LP261:64-219, LP262:1-126, LP277:155-239, LP278:1-192, LP287:1-202, LP295:1-210, LP320:1-321, LP350
Creator:
Senate Appropriations Committee
Collection Size:
119 cubic feet
Repository:
California State Archives
Abstract: The Senate Appropriations Committee is the most recent Senate committee to oversee bills which appropriate money or result
in a substantive expenditure or loss of revenue and which are not referred to the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. The
Senate Appropriations Committee records consist of Bill Files, 1985-2008; Hearing Files, 1991-1996, 2001-2007; and Final Reports
2003-2007. Also included are the records of two subcommittees. The records of the Senate Subcommittee on Bonded Indebtedness
and Methods of Financing consist of Bill Files, 1987-1996, Hearing Files, 1989-1996; and Subject Files, 1988-1996. The records
of the Senate Subcommittee on Fiscal Oversight and Bonded Indebtedness consist of one hearing file from 2007.
Physical location: California State Archives
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Administrative Information
Access
While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions will be noted in the record series descriptions.
Publication Rights
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Senate Appropriations Committee Records, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives,
Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.
Acquisition History
The State Archives received these records in accordance with California Government Code 9080(b) which requires legislative
committees to transfer their records to the State Archives when they are no longer needed by the committee.
Committee History
The Senate Appropriations Committee is the most recent Senate committee to oversee bills which appropriate money or result
in a substantive expenditure or loss of revenue and which are not referred to the Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. Additionally,
any bill having a digest which, indicates that the bill requires state reimbursement to local agencies or school districts
for costs mandated by the state shall be referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
The first committee that had appropriations under its purview was the Senate Finance Committee. Its purpose was to review
appropriations bills, including the Budget Bill and claim bill, other bills and concurrent resolutions required to be referred
to the committee by Joint Rule 10.5 and any bills described in subdivision (a) of Rule 28.9. In 1985 this committee was abolished.
The Senate Appropriations Committee then was formed by Senate Resolution 11, passed on February 15, 1985. Initially, the committee
consisted of nine members then increased to twelve members in 1989. In 1992, committee membership increased again to thirteen
and in 2007 the committee consisted on seventeen members.
The chairs of the committee from 1985 to 2008 were:
Alquist, Alfred E. (Dem.), 1985-1986
Presley, Robert (Dem.) 1987-1994
Johnston, Patrick (Dem.) 1995-2000
Alpert, Deirdre W. (Dem.) 2001-2004
Migden, Carole (Dem.) 2005-2006
Torlakson, Tom (Dem.) 2007-2008
Scope and Content
The Senate Appropriations Committee records consist of Bill Files, 1985-2008; Hearing Files, 1991-1996, 2001-2007; and Final
Reports 2003-2007. Also included are the records of two subcommittees. The records of the Senate Subcommittee on Bonded Indebtedness
and Methods of Financing consist of Bill Files, 1987-1996, Hearing Files, 1989-1996; and Subject Files, 1988-1996. The records
of the Senate Subcommittee on Fiscal Oversight and Bonded Indebtedness consist of one hearing file from 2007.
Each legislative session the Senate Appropriations Committee reviewed a large percentage of the bills introduced in the legislature
to determine their fiscal feasibility. The records of the committee document their recommendations for each bill. As a result
of the high volume of bills under review each year, the bill files are minimal and contain routine forms and analyses. Similarly,
the majority of the hearing files contain primarily vote logs and very little substantive discussion. Subject files from the
Subcommittee on Bonded Indebtedness and Methods of Financing contain the most in-depth information on various political issues.
Accruals
Further accruals are expected.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
California State Senate Appropriations Committee
Government spending
Fiscal policy
Related Collections at the California State Archives
Researchers interested in this committee are advised to check the papers of its Chairs. Committee Chairs often kept materials
relating to committee operations among their personal files. For Chair papers available at the California State Archives or
other repositories, this information can be found in the committee history.